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In case you missed it, I was interviewed on both CBC Saskatchewan and CBC Saskatoon this morning about our new crowdfundy-kickstarter thing! Those interviews have been transmogrified into a story:

The papers, produced biweekly by Hullabaloo Publishing, will still be freely available in their traditional coffee shop, pub and street box locations. But, by taking a page from the crowdfunding playbook, Whitworth is hoping to keep the printing press humming.

“Our readers who value our paper, and seem to like us from what we can tell, should have a clear and concise opportunity to support us directly,” said Whitworth.

Subscriptions start at $9.99 for every two issues. There are increasing tiers of paid support that include perks for readers wishing to contribute more.

Read the whole thing here, and, if you want, support our “weird and funny…fanatically fact-based, reality-based and entertaining-to-read” publication here.

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These are tough times for free, advertising-funded alternative papers like Prairie Dog. Government and agency buys are down. National print ads are extinct. And after this week’s brutal Provincial budget, it looks like recession is on its way back to Saskatchewan.

Frankly, it’s becoming incredibly difficult to publish the kind of newspaper we want to make — and that we think you want to read.

Good news: there’s a new way for you to help!

For as little as the cost of one premium beer a month you can support one of this country’s best alternative papers. The benefits are mighty: along with the pride you’ll get from being part of this swashbuckling indy news and arts adventure, every issue of Prairie Dog will be mailed directly to your home or office so you’ll never miss a paper!

On top of that, supporters get to pick out gift cards to some of Regina’s best restaurants and shops, as well as be eligible for supporter-only contests and giveaways.

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You’ll see a new byline in Prairie Dog and on Dog Blog for the next little while! Megan Roth, a journalism student at SAIT, has joined our editorial department (title: Intrepid Intern) and will be writing all kinds of stuff for the next few weeks (stuff specifics TBA).

To get to know Megan better, we asked her to interview herself in the third person. She has graciously allowed this nonsense to be posted online.

Let’s start with something easy. What is your name, age and where you are from?

I’m Megan Roth, I am 25 and I’m from everywhere but most recently Calgary by way of Moose Jaw.

Why did you come to Prairie Dog for your practicum?

Well, the idea that I wouldn’t have to pay extra rent was quite appealing as I’m staying with my parents. I also enjoyed reading it while I was in high school and thought I could probably do what I saw there too.

Why did you decide to become a journalist?

I like to attribute it to wanting to be like Lois Lane and Clark Kent as a kid, and later like Peter Parker. So basically I just wanted to be a superhero.

Is it true that you wore a Captain America sweater into the office this morning?

Yes I did. It was cold and snowy out when I left home, and I’m the wonderfully smart person who forgot her actual jacket in Calgary. I have no regrets though. I love Cap. It’s the closest I can come in everyday life to being a superhero.

If you weren’t a journalist or a writer of any sort, what would you be doing?

I’d be a costume designer. Put my cosplay skills to some actual use.

What do you like to do in your free time?

If I have free time, I like to read — even though I am technically an adult I do still enjoy young adult literature, play board games, design costumes for cosplay, and play Dungeons and Dragons. If I have time in the summer I also like to scuba dive.

What made you a nerd, you nerd?

Harry Potter when I was 11. That, even more than watching X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons was my first real foray into nerdom. Harry Potter showed me true fandom.

How do you think you’ll fit in at Prairie Dog?

I don’t see how it’s going to work; the people here say they hate nerds. But I’ll give it a try.

Do you have a question for Megan? Ask it in the comments below! She probably won’t answer because she’s very busy, but you never know. Maybe if you ask reeeeeally nice.

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Have you read Paul Constant’s feature on gun culture in the United States? You should because it’s great. Sample:

Because mass murder in the U.S. always arrives wreathed in statistics like a professional sport, CNN reported we’ve seen 73 school shootings since the ghastly Newtown massacre in December 2012. A few days later, CNN corrected itself, claiming there have been 15 school shootings since Newtown. Where’d the other 58 shootings go? CNN deemed them unofficial because they “included personal arguments, accidents and alleged gang activities and drug deals,” rather than garden-variety madmen. Because those other wounded and dead students don’t count as victims of gun violence if their shooter had an understandable motive. Because gun death somehow doesn’t count if it’s an accident.

Paul is an editor at The Stranger, the best damn (and Pulitzer Prize-winning!) alternative newsweekly in the United States. The Seattle paper, which is editorially directed by the legendary Dan Savage, also have the best blog of any alternative newspaper on the continent — and it’s ON this blog that Paul mentioned his Prairie Dog feature:

Every so often, I try to explain American politics to the good Canadians who read Prairie Dog, a great alternative weekly up in Regina. In this week’s Prairie Dog, I maybe overstep my bounds as American explainer. I try to offer them some advice on gun violence.

Thought you guys might like to see your silly little indie fish-wrapper get some love from a major alt paper in a major-ish U.S. city. I was pretty tickled. Hugs all around!

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Meet loyal Prairie Dog reader, three-time Typo Wiener and sexy moustache man Brad Joyce. Brad is seen here in a blatantly staged shot, pretending to read the new issue. He’s actually read the entire paper already. I asked him for an easy-to remember quote about the new PD. His one-word answer?

“Sucks.”

:(

No no, Brad’s kidding. He totally loves us. Now here’s the what’s-what, vis-à-vis and in regards to the new Prairie Dog.

SCENES FROM YOUR SUMMER If you’re not sure where to go or what to do for the next couple of months, check out our pull-out guide with all the information any Regina human could possibly need! Gloriously illustrated* by Dakota McFadzean.

MY TIRED, BULLET-RIDDLED COUNTRYPrairie Dog’s Occasional Official American Contributor, Paul Constant, writes about how guns make him sad. While he acknowledges one or two good things happening in the U.S. — increasing support for same-sex marriage, the decriminalization of pot in some state, a $15/hour minimum wage in Seattle — he says, “I don’t think meaningful change is happening fast enough to repair the invasive rot chewing the foundation of our nation into so many soggy toothpicks.” Yikes! Features a terrific illustration by big-deal Sask ex-pat artist (and former Prairie Dog art director) Nigel Hood.

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The new Prairie Dog is out today! Alas, it doesn’t contain anything by Paul Dechene. Fortunately, Paul sent in this photo to go with this post. So that makes up for another Decheneless issue, right? Right! Because now, if you find yourself missing Paul, you can just stare at the picture and feel better.

One more thing before I get into what’s in this issue: I have to apologize for a factual error on the contents page. We identified the kaiju on our cover as “Goosezilla”. Obviously, that drawing by Dakota McFadzean is NOT Goosezilla. There’s no such thing as Goosezilla. A three-headed, city-destroying goose monster is obviously going to be called called King Goosedorah.

A while back we added a permanent “Donate” link to our website’s menu bar. Maybe you noticed it? It’s for Prairie Dog readers who might want to support our (free!) newspaper with actual money!

Speaking without any, ahem,bias, I think this is a great idea.

The fact is, Prairie Dog is an essential part of Regina’s media and cultural landscape, and its existence matters a lot to a lot of people. So while we are (and will remain) an advertising-supported venture, we believe our fans deserve the opportunity to be a part of this enterprise beyond just reading*. And now, they — you — canbe a part of it!

If you or someone you know has been blessed by the prosperity fairy, please consider making a donation. It’s not tax deductible — after all, we’re a business! — but I promise we’ll use your donation to make the paper (and hopefully as a result, Regina) better.

For more information or to make an actual donation, click here. Want to heap praise, offer criticism or share miscellaneous thoughts about Prairie Dog, Regina’s unique, 21-year-old alternative newspaper? Leave a comment below!

If you purchase this original artwork, Seattle will crush Denver at the 2014 Superbowl. (If you’re a Broncos fan, buy this drawing and burn it, and then Denver will definitely win.)

As I hope you guys know (and appreciate), Prairie Dog and Planet S commission and print more original art than any other Saskatchewan publication. Every issue of the ‘Dog has drawings and comics by Dakota McFadzean and Myron Campbell — both incredible and hardworking Saskatchewan-born talents we’re honoured to regularly work with.

You might not, however, be aware that Dakota sells his original art. He does! And it’s affordable! The image above, for example — which ran in this issue’s Bonus Column — can be had for a mere $60, including shipping! That’s peanuts!

Click here for more details. Then buy it, frame it and hang it in your home. Congratulations! You’ve just supported a great artist and more importantly, you own dome great art! You are now supercool!

Hello Meghan and Eric! What’s that you’ve got there? HOLY SHIT, is that a new issue of Prairie Dog?!?!?!? I heard it’s a really good one, too — lots of stuff to read! For example:

GOODBYE, BUY THE BOOK Another bookstore closes, leaving our city of 200,000 with a grand total of three. Paul Dechene has the official Prairie Dog angle.

THE NEIL YOUNG EXPERIENCE Rick Pollard reports from the press conference while Stephen Whitworth complains about shoddy media coverage.

WHEN JOSH BROLIN BAKED PEACH PIES EVERY DAY Jorge Ignacio Castillo sat down with the Labor Day star and director Jason Reitman, and chatted about their new movie.

MAGNETA LANE IS BACK! Sometimes a good band needs to take some time off. That’s what Toronto’s Magneta Lane did. And now they’re back with a Tuesday show at O’Hanlon’s in Regina, Saskatchewan. Things are looking up! Chris Morin talks to the talented trio.

Yup, you guys are going to really enjoy the Jan. 23 Prairie Dog! Lots of people will! It’s out there at somethinglike 400 locations city-wide! And it’s free! But you’ve only got two weeks to get a copy, and then it will be replaced with a new issue. So hurry!

*Print only.

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Who’s that reading the new Prairie Dog? It’s cartoonist Dakota McFadzean (left) and his auxiliary cartoonist brother, Jonah! Dakota’s home for the holidays, as you know if you read last issue. Hopefully you caught his book signing at the RPL last week — I didn’t because 1.) I suck and 2.) I had (and still have) the goddamn monkey plague. Anyhoo, Dakota brought his pen, ink and paper with him, as you can tell by the cover he drew for us. Smaug, of course, is the dragon from The Hobbit, and the version Dakota drew shows him eating… oh dear, are those Santa’s reindeer? And where’s Santa… uh oh. Who approved this horrible cover?

So what’s in this issue? Well!

THE HOBBIT I hear that some alleged movie critics base their reviews on pirated downloads they watch on their computer moniters. Our accredited critic, however, actually gets into advance media screenings of films. Want an informed opinion by a real critic with a film degree who saw the movie in the theatre as it was meant to be seen? Jorge’s your guy. Here’s his review of The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, which he saw Monday. (Also reviews of How I Live Now and Inside Llewyn Davis).

ANOTHER WINTER, ANOTHER REGINA MASS EVICTION A buildingful of people get eviction notices with the whole winter ahead of them. God help anyone who rents in this town.

MANDELA WAS NOT BELOVED BY CONSERVATIVES He’s been almost universally praised as the last great political hero of the 20th century but right-wingers sure didn’t love him at the time.

The new issue of Prairie Dog is out and look at this poor dude, it’s so good it’s completely blown his mind. Meet Chad Boudreau, overlord of ComicReaders downtown, a.k.a. Regina’s Best Comic Shop. He’s reading Emmet Matheson’sinterview with Regina-born cartoonist Dakota McFadzean, who is one insanely talented guy. (Also, while you can’t see it, Chad’s also standing under a piece of art by Dakota’s brother, Jonah. Talented family!)

I’m a little worried that Chad’s poor brain will be completely scrambled by the time he finishes this issue because there’s just so much awesome stuff to read. For example:

GOOD TIMES IN RIDERTOWN Stephen LaRose picked the Riders to finish 8-10 and lose the Western semifinal. He’s so glad he was wrong.

It’s Thursday, the magical weekday when new issues of Prairie Dog come out! And today there’s an extra good one! Yessir/ma’am, it’s our Best Of Regina edition, where we profile our readers’ picks for the city’s best people, events, media, shops, activities and more! Upstanding citizens like Amy, Eoin, Louisa and Betsy (pictured!) are already enjoying the new PD. You should pick up a free copy and enjoy it too! It’s available at 400 locations city-wide.

So what’s in this one? Glad you asked! There’s so much great stuff! Such as:

THE BEST OF REGINA The annual reader poll ran over 20,000 words, which is probably the biggest we’ve ever gone. We definitely had the strongest voter turnout. Also, John Gormley wrote something in it. Yup, really. Read the whole damn thing here.

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The new issue of Prairie Dog is here! Huzzah! Let’s start this off by saluting this issue’s celebrity Typo Wiener, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. I met Premier Wall last week at the Legislature to give him his $10 and T-shirt prize and he was friendly, personable and genuine. He and I certainly wouldn’t agree with all of each other’s politics, but Wallain’t Canada’s most popular premier for nuttin’. Along with the Typo Wiener T-shirt, we gave Premier Wall one of Myron Campbell’s excellent, surreal limited edition 2010 Prairie Dog T-shirts, which you can see in Chris Graham’s photo. Myron’s shirt is a great, freaky take on the Saskatchewan subconscious and they’re genuine works of art (and yes, we still have a few left for sale, plug, plug).

So what else is in this one? Lots!

LITTLE MISS HIGGINS One of our favourite Saskatchewan musicians has a new album and better yet, an upcoming Regina concert.Read all about it.

CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THAT P3 STUFF Saskatchewan needs more schools and by gum, we’re gonna use public private partnerships to build ’em.

REALLY GREAT FIRST NATION’S PAINTERS Their work is at the MacKenzie and you should read about it.

ZE ZOMBIEOLOGIST Vith a last name like “Ozog”, you vould theenk zat our Street Scare profile vould be a goblin, not a human! But Cassie ees a human! A human who has tamed ze very scary zombies on her very scary roller derby team! “Ashley “Rotten” Rankinreports!

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Hey! I forgot to tell all you lovely readerlings that there’s a new issue out. Well, you probably figured it out already. But if not you should definitely make sure to pick the new Prairie Dog up–there’s SO much good stuff in it! Let’s take a virtual tour…

THE LABOUR DAY REPORT Most of the feature is about the scourge of union-bashing. Yup, thanks to years of well-funded anti-union propaganda, organized labour is often seen as public enemy number one. What’s up with that? Paul Dechene and Lisa Johnson get into it. There’s also an update on Saskatchewan’s anti-labour legislation by the esteemed Greg “Gregory” Beatty.

NO END IN SIGHT Foreign students Victoria Ordu and Favour Amadi worked a few shifts at Walmart in unintentional violation of their visas and as a result they were ordered deported by a hang-’em high immigration officer. Phooey to that. Unfortunately, the two have been in sanctuary for more than 400 days. Vanda Schmockel updates their sitch.

RACIST IMMIGRANTS Gwynne Dyer makes fun of Australia, and it is hilarious.

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS Prairie Dog finally gets around to writing something about that wicked-cool show at the Science Centre. Take it away, Beatty!

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That guy? That guy right there? That’s Heath Mulligan, one of the top astronauts at our Saskatoon sister paper Planet S. Heath’s down for the week on some kind of secret mission which as far as I can tell involves disrupting our office with filthy jokes and disgusting chatter and making me drink even more than I usually do. What a jerk. Anyway! Heath’s holding the excellent, excellent new issue of Prairie Dog which is being rolled out all over the city as I type this. It’s a really, really good one and you need to pick it up RIGHT NOW. There are so many great articles inside it! So! Many!

They include:

THE 2013 REGINA FOLK FESTIVAL GUIDE! Every single issue of Prairie Dog includes a huuuge guide to this year’s Folk Fest, which has a complete list of all of the artists who will descend on Victoria Park for some hella good times. Because I’m an absent-minded imbecile, I forgot to mention this on the cover. But it’s in there! Really!

WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT REFERENDUM DRAMAPALOOZA! After Regina’s city clerk rejected Regina Water Watch’s waste water treatment plant petition for specious reasons, citizens were enraged–enraged!!!— and city council bowed to that rage, voting to hold Regina’s first referendum since 1988. We’ve got lots on that, including comment from Mayor Michael Fougere who led the surprise vote. Here’s the story!

ROOMING HOUSE BATTLE-A-RAMA! On July 10 the city held an information session on changes to rooming house legislation and hoo boy, peeps be agitated! Prairie Dog editor Stephen Whitworth (that’s me!) calls Paul Dechene’s story on the meeting “one of my all-time favourite Prairie Dog stories!” It’s that good. You must read it!

Also: you know how music articles are, uh, maybe, sometimes, er, dull? Aidan Morgan’s epic interview with Regina punk/New Wave legend The Extroverts is not boring. It might be indulgent, ridiculous and insane, but it’s not boring. Got to be one of the greatest pieces of music journalism ever published in Saskatchewan.You should read it. Also, Chris Morin has a companion piece for less adventurous people who like their reading material bullshit-free. (#DifferentStrokes)

In addition to all that great stuff we’ve got Drink! The Beverage Issue, our annual foray into the world of booze. Okay, so we write about booze all the time. This issue has a much higher blood-alcohol content than usual, though. It’s got stuff on sangria, beer cocktails, drinking songs and douchebags.